Concrete construction.



R. T. BRGWN. CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLGATION FILED FEB. l, 1907.

Patented oet. 2"?, i908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

reduced, `and wh'ereb UITED sTATEs PATENT OEEIOE.

ROBERT T. BROWN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO F. WILLIAM BROWN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 27, loos.

Application led February 1, 1907. Berial No. 355,294.`

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT T. BROWN, ia citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Concrete Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to concrete constructions and its Object is to provide such a construction whereby the weight thereof may be a considerable economy in time und Skil ed labor, and hence in cost, may be effected without reducing the stability, strength, l or weight sustaining vqualities of the members of said construction.

With this object in view my invention comprises essentially a ventilated, reinforced, molded, concrete plank of any suitable shape, preferably trapezoidal in cross-section, and various forms of construction embodying the same as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification I haye illustrated several embodiments of my invention which have been found well adapted in practice for effecting the foregoing objects; although it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the details of construction shown inasmuch as many modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of my invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 shows a perspective View of an outside curtain-wall or inside partition, such for example, as the lining of an elevator shaft, constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 represents a horizontal section of the construction as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a vertical section of a curved arch construction embodying one form of my molded concrete plank. Fi 4 shows a vert-ical section taken on the ine 4-4 of Fi 3. Fig. 5 shows a vertical section of a at arch construction embodying the use of my concrete plank. Fig. 6 shows a vertical section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 shows in perspective one type of mold whereby the aforesaid concrete plank may be formed. Fig. 8 shows a modiileation which may be employed in constructions of the type shown in Fig. 1.

In the figures, 1 represents a molded concrete plank, preferably trapezoidal in shape,

having one side A about tive inches in width and its'broader side B about six inches in width and being about three inches in thickness and from nine to ten feet in length.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 7, reinforces, consisting, as shown in the present case, Of iron or steel rods 2, are inserted through. the two-lower holes 13 in the ends of the mold, and concrete or other cementi tious material is` then packed into the mold and u) to the leve-l ,of the preferably ovalshape hole 14. An oval shaped tube or blocking of wire netting or perforated metal is then placed in the mold and held in position by the holes 14, 14 and two otherrein-` 'forces are placed in position through the upper holes 13, 13. The mold is then filled with concrete or other cementitious material packed and leveled oil" and allowed to harden. After the concrete hashardened, the mold 12 is inverted and the concrete plank removed therefrom. This concrete plank, as shown for example in Fig. 2, reinforced by the rods 2 and ventilated by the hole, is then ready to be used in various building constmlctions.v

In the construction shown in Fig. 1, which is that of a curtain wall for steel-frame buildings, the concrete planks l are held at to and bottom in channel irons or by other sultable means, which in turn are secured to the I-beams and girders of the usual typel constituting steelframe construction. As shown in Fi s. 1 and 2, the planks are placed so that the roader side of every alternate plank faces outward. By virtue of the airhole 3 the weight of the plank is reduced and the plank is made more impervious to the passage of sound or fire therethrough and can better withstand the 4action of heat. llVhen the plank above described is used as an outside wall or inside partition- I prefer to employ two series of lanks forming twov parallel walls or partitions in lieu of a solid wall of double the thickness of a single' lank in order more thoroughly to render tlie whole impervious to the passage therethrough of sound and fire and to the action of heat.

By means of a suitably formed mold, which in view of the specific descriptionl of the mold shown in Fig. 7 it will be unnecessary to illustrate`-lrerein, a curved plank 1 upon the lower flanges of the I-beams 5 5 and the space formed between the top of the arch and the Webs and upper flanges of the said I-beams is. filled with fire-proof material Vsuch as ashes, san'd, cement, gravel, etc., as shown at 6. The floor beams 7 are then supported on thel surface of said lire-proof inaterial. A concrete ceilii'ig 8 reinforced by the rods 9 may be hung from the lower flanges of the I-beams and, if such construction is employed, the rods 9 may be bent up as shovvn over the lower flanges of said I-beams, before the, curved planks l are placed 'in position. As shown more clearly in F ig. 4 the cementitious or fire-proof material 6 fills the interstices between the adj acent planks l thus binding the several members of the' arch.v v

Figs. and 6 show the adaptation of my inventionto a flat arch in which as before the hung ceiling 8 may be employed. rThe concrete beams 10 reinforced by the rods ll may be" secured in position on the lower flanges of" the I-beams 5 and the flat concrete plank l, reinforced by the rods 2 and ventilatedas shown at 3, may then be supported by said beams ll. Here again. the broader side of each concrete plank is placed downward and fire-proof or cemcntitious material 1s packed 1n the space betweenthe upper surface of the arch and the upper flanges of the I-beams.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 5 an air space is formed between the upper portion of the hung ceiling 8 and the lower surface of the planks l or 1,.said air space together with the airspaces S3 rendering the floor construction impervious to the passage of heat and sound. p

i As shown in Fig. 8, the planks l may be formed with V-shaped ends and so arranged in their supports, such as the channel irons 4: 4, Which are shown in Fig. l, as to leave narrow vertical spaces betv'veen the adjacent planks. The outer surface of the Wall so constructed may then be plastered or finished in any desirable way and a portion of said plaster or finish will enter into the angular spacesbetween each pair of adjacentplanks so as to more firmly secure the same t'o the surface of the Wall.

l claim:

In a concrete construction, the combination with supporting I-beams of a curved arch, said arch consisting of a plurality of contiguous reinforced, molded, concrete planks trapezoidal in transverse section and each provided with a longitudinally extending cavity, said planks having their ends resting on. 'and supported by the lower flanges of said I-beams and the broader side of each plank beingl downward, whereby V- shaped spaces are formed between adjacent planks; a layer of cementitious material superimposed upon said arch and filling said spaces; and a fiat arch beneath said curved arch, said flatarch consisting of a series. of reinforced concrete planks, each having its reinforces resting upon the lowerflanges of said I-bcams and so arranged that an airspace is formed between said arches.

3. In a concrete construction, the combination with supporting I-beams, of an arch, said arch consisting of a plurality of contiguous reinforced, molded concrete planks trapezoidal in transverse section and each provided with a longitudinally extending cavity', said planks having their ends resting on and supported by the lower flanges of said Lbeams and the broader side of each plank being downward, whereby V-shaped spaces are formed between adjacent planks; and a layer of firefproof material superimposed upon said arch and filling said spaces and the space between the webs. of said I-beams and the top of said arch.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 29th day of Jan.

ROBERT T. BROWN. l/Vitnesse' Cna :Les C. KURTZ, Gno. K. lVooDwonTH. 

